Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 10, 2010 News
As the issue of HIV/AIDS increases in Amerindian communities, the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs is committed to combating the problem.
The HIV/AIDS awareness programme at that Ministry has been able to conduct a number of outreaches to the various Amerindian communities in order to spread the message about the dangers associated with the virus.
But the Ministry is not only focusing on the HIV/AIDS issue, but also on other social ills such as substance abuse, domestic violence, alcohol, and child and sexual abuse which are also being discussed in the various villages.
“We have been able to conduct that programme to the best of our abilities and I think that it is a very consistent programme that we know will have very positive results in the way that Amerindian communities address social issues as they are encountered,” Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai, said at her last press conference.
Recently, the Focal Point for HIV/AIDS at the Amerindian Affairs Ministry, Autry Haynes, had explained that while HIV/AIDS is a serious concern in most Amerindian communities, there appears to be a growing issue of sexual and reproductive health in the same communities.
The National HIV/AIDS Prevention Programme is currently being supported by the Ministry of Health and the Health Sector Development Unit with funds from the World Bank.
The programme commenced in 2005 and entails visiting a number of communities, especially the hinterland ones in an effort to sensitise the residents to problems relating to HIV/AIDS and the threat it has to their livelihood.
According to Haynes, it was during those interventions that the Ministry learnt from the villagers that there are other issues affecting them.
The Amerindian Affairs Ministry has also been successful in collaborating with other agencies such as the Ministry of Education to include HIV/AIDS and Sexual and Reproductive Health issues in the curriculum of the Health and Family Life Education Programme.
The Ministry also aims to improve the communication link between the Ministry and the residents in the communities by conducting a number of ministerial outreaches. For last year, 60 communities were visited.
According to Minister Sukhai, this allows the Ministry to have direct ‘hands on’ approach to the projects taking place in some of the villages.
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